NEW YORK, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. dollar was almost flat on Monday as disappointing economic data in the United States reinforced the case for the Federal Reserve to hold rates steady at its meeting this month.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, fell 0.01 percent at 103.9990 in late trading.
The U.S. services purchasing managers index (PMI) in May plunged to 50.3 from April's 51.9, well below expectations of 52.2 and one step away from entering recessionary territory, according to data issued by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) on Monday morning.
The U.S. dollar retracted all the gains on tumbling Treasury yields, immediately after the release of the data.
According to the report, the non-manufacturing sector was constrained by a sharp pullback in the forward-looking new orders component, which sank to 52.9 from 56.1 in April. The employment indicator also took a downward turn, retreating to 49.2 in May from 50.8 in the previous month, an indication that hiring conditions may be worsening.
With Federal Reserve officials now in their pre-policy decision blackout for speaking in public, "financial markets are left to focus on data alone, and today's ISM survey reads very badly," said Adrian Ash, director of research at BullionVault.
In late New York trading, the euro was up to 1.0714 U.S. dollars from 1.0713 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound decreased to 1.2433 U.S. dollars from 1.2453 dollars in the previous session.
The U.S. dollar bought 139.6130 Japanese yen, lower than 139.9190 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar fell to 0.9057 Swiss franc from 0.9085 Swiss franc, and it increased to 1.3437 Canadian dollars from 1.3430 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar was up to 10.8539 Swedish Krona from 10.8007 Swedish Krona.
